Second Amendment
Geoff Page
Eleven now, not too precocious,
she’s looked the details up on-line,
the weapon that is most preferred,
the AR semi-automatic.
She’s weathered shooter drills and lockdowns.
She knows the relevant amendment.
She’s heard about the NRA
and how it prays for children.
She knows she’ll need to start by hand,
a fresh page in her journal,
purple biro with the ‘i’s’
all dotted with those little rings
her classmates love to use.
Her list of what should go to whom
is still a blurred intent.
Tomorrow though she’ll type it out
and stow it in a drawer.
Slowly now, her fingers pen
Last Will and Testament.
Geoff Page is based in Canberra and has published twenty-five collections of poetry as well as two novels and five verse novels. His recent books include Gods and Uncles (Pitt Street Poetry 2015) and Hard Horizons (Pitt Street Poetry 2017). His Elegy for Emily: a verse biography (Puncher & Wattmann) and In medias res (Pitt Street Poetry) were published in 2019. Codicil, a mini-selected translated into Chinese, was issued by Flying Islands (Macao) in 2020. His 101 Poems: 2011-2021 was recently published by Pitt Street Poetry. He also reviews Australian poetry extensively and has run monthly poetry readings and jazz concerts in Canberra for many years